When it involves your health, it's now easy to measure and track all types of data. From the comfort of our homes, we are able to check our weight, blood pressure, step count, calories, heart rate and blood sugar. Researchers are exploring one other data point called heart rate variability (HRV) as a possible marker of resilience and behavioral flexibility.
What is HRV?
HRV is just a measure of the difference in time between each heart beat. This variation is controlled by a primitive a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It works behind the scenes, robotically controlling our heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory and digestion amongst other essential functions. The ANS is split into two major components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, also often called the fight-or-flight mechanism and the relief response.
The brain is continually processing information in an area called the hypothalamus. The ANS provides signals to the hypothalamus, which then directs the remaining of the body to activate or calm down various functions. It not only responds to a foul night's sleep, or a sour conversation along with your boss, but in addition to the exciting news that you simply're engaged, or to that delicious healthy meal you had for lunch. I had eaten. Our body handles all of the stimuli and life goes on. However, if we've got constant triggers reminiscent of stress, poor sleep, unhealthy weight loss program, dysfunctional relationships, loneliness or isolation, and lack of exercise, this balance can develop into out of whack, and your fight-or-flight response becomes overpowered. Can change to drive.
Check heart rate variability.
The gold standard is to research an extended strip of electrocardiogram done within the doctor's office. But in recent times, corporations have launched apps and wearable heart rate monitors that do exactly that. The accuracy of those methods remains to be being tested, however the technology is improving. If you wish to try it, chest strap monitors provide a more accurate measure of HRV than wrist devices.
HRV may offer a non-invasive method to disclose imbalances within the autonomic nervous system. Based on data collected from many individuals, if the system is in additional of a fight-or-flight mode, the difference between heartbeats decreases. If the system is in a more relaxed state, the difference between beats could also be greater.
This suggests some interesting possibilities. People with higher HRV can have greater cardiovascular fitness and should be more resilient to emphasize. HRV can even provide personalized feedback about your lifestyle and help motivate those considering taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle. You may notice changes in HRV as you incorporate more mindfulness, meditation, sleep, and particularly physical activity into your life. For those that love data and numbers, it might be a technique to learn how your nervous system is reacting not only to the environment, but in addition to your emotions, thoughts and feelings.
The bottom line
There are questions on the accuracy, reliability, and overall utility of HRV tracking. While HRV has been linked to overall physical well-being, the connection between changes in HRV and the way your autonomic nervous system is functioning will need more research. Still, should you determine to make use of HRV as one other piece of health data, don't be too confident in case your HRV is high, or too anxious in case your HRV is low. I'm Think of HRV as one other way you'll be able to tune into your body and mind responding to your each day experiences.